One of the two barges allegedly abandoned at Jamaica Bay’s Barbadoes Basin has pushed up against the already eroding wetlands.(pic courtesy of Don Riepe)
Proponents of Jamaica Bay are outraged that a marine construction firm allegedly abandoned its barges in the bay, further compromising the ecosystem’s eroding tidal wetlands, but are grateful the state has finally identified the perpetrators.
With help from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Environmental Conservation in late September named Pile Foundation Construction Co. Inc. of Hicksville, L.I., as the company responsible for leaving two large barges to sink to the bottom of Jamaica Bay’s Barbadoes Basin.
Calls to the company were not returned as of press time.
This is relief for the residents of Broad Channel who first alerted authorities of the floating barges on Sept. 23, and environmental groups concerned about Jamaica Bay’s health.
The department issued the company a notice of violation of New York State’s Tidal Wetlands Act, which imposes a penalty of $10,000 per day, per barge until the two structures are removed. The fine was implemented last fall, when the DEC became aware of the situation.
City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), who chairs the council’s Committee on Environmental Protection and has been a longtime advocate of Jamaica Bay preservation, said the hefty fine is well-deserved. “Anyone who would violate Jamaica Bay in such an egregious way has to be made an example,” he said.
Councilman Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach), who represents the area where the barges were found, said he is also grateful that the DEC is imposing the fine and fulfilling its responsibility to protect the Bay.
“Jamaica Bay belongs to all New Yorkers” said DEC Regional Director Suzanne Mattei, “It’s not a dumping ground for derelict vessels.”
Another concerned preservationist is hopeful that the money collected by DEC would go to Jamaica Bay restoration efforts.
“Jamaica Bay is a very special place to all us,” said Don Riepe, who runs the Jamaica Bay Guardian program and is the director of the American Littoral Society’s northeast chapter. “There’s a lot of people out there concerned and interested in improving the natural resources of the Bay.”
DEC officials said the Environmental Conservation Law requires the fines to be deposited in the marine resources account of the conservation fund.
Riepe explained that the barges, which are used to transport oil, sand, gravel and other materials, are impeding wetland growth and smothering plants. One barge, he said, partially sank and pushed up against the developing salt marshes on the east side of Barbadoes Basin, while the other is fully submerged.
The potential effect this can have on the environment and on human health are significant, Riepe said, explaining that the oil, grease and debris from the barges pollute the water and then are taken up into the food chain. This can eventually pose a risk to human health, he added.
“Who knows what they’re leaching into the water,” Riepe asked, adding that the unsightliness has stolen the basin’s aesthetic appeal.
Gennaro and Riepe are concerned that this situation will cause a setback to the restoration and protection efforts they, and other environmental organizations, have launched for Jamaica Bay’s disappearing salt marshes and eroding tidal wetlands.
The alleged barge abandonment “flies in the face of that effort,” Riepe said.
A spokesman for the DEC said the department is expecting to receive a response from Pile Foundation Construction soon. Once it has made contact with the company, the two will work together to remove the barges from Jamaica Bay, he said.
The conditions of the barges, which Riepe speculated could have been abandoned because they no longer work or are too expensive to rehabilitate, will determine the process of removal, DEC spokesman Arturo Garcia-Costas said. The frequency of vessel strandings has been on the rise in recent years as a result of higher fuel costs and other economic reasons, he added.
Riepe had some words of warning for future violators: “We’re all looking, so people should beware: if they’re trying to dump things in Jamaica Bay, they’re going to get caught.”
